Wireless image distribution system and method

ABSTRACT

A system and method for distributing at least one digital photographic image is presented, the system and method comprising at least one capturing device and at least one receiving device disposed in a communicative relation with one another via at least one wireless network. In particular, the capturing device is structured to capture the at least one digital photographic image via, for example, a capture assembly, whereas the receiving device is cooperatively structured to receive the digital photographic image via, for example, the at least one wireless network. In addition, the capturing device(s) and receiving device(s) may be disposed in a selectively paired relationship via one or more common pre-defined pairing criteria. Further, the at least one digital photographic image may be filtered via at least one pre-defined transfer criteria disposed on the capturing device and/or receiving device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a system and method fordistributing one or more digital photographic images from at least onecapturing device, such as, for example, a digital camera or othermechanism having digital photographic capabilities, and one or morereceiving devices, wherein the receiving device(s) is cooperativelystructured to automatically and/or selectively receive the digitalphotographic image(s) from the capturing device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Historically, photography, which includes the capturing of still and/ormoving images, has been the source of interest and attention for manyindividuals, and is commonly employed for a variety of purposes,including, for business, pleasure, and as an art form. Particularly,scientists, artists, police enforcement, advertising agencies, and/orthe general public use photography and/or capture still and movingimages in a number of different circumstances and for various reasons.In particular, the capturing of photographic images may be used as asource of entertainment, to preserve memories, capture special moments,tell a story, or send a message.

In addition to a device structured for the primary purpose of capturingimages, such as a camera, a number of other electronic devices, such as,for example, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (“PDA”),etc., include mechanisms and/or various devices for capturing one ormore still and/or moving digital photographic images. These variousdevices allow users to capture images in virtually any location, atvirtually any time, and in virtually any situation, and thus theprevalence of photography in today's society continues to increase.

Oftentimes, groups of individuals appearing in a proximate location toone another find themselves capturing or attempting to capture digitalphotographic images of the same or similar object(s), scenery, people,etc. Moreover, these groups of individuals are often friends, family,and/or acquaintances that have the desire to share, distribute, and/orobtain copies of the digital photographic images captured by oneanother.

For exemplary purposes only, weddings, parties, vacations, sportingevents, tours, etc., provide an ideal situation where a number ofindividuals such as, friends, family members, or acquaintances, may besimultaneously taking photographs, attempting to take photographs, orotherwise have the desire to obtain copies of photographs taken by otherindividuals. In such a situation, it is rather common for one or more ofthe photographers or individuals capturing the digital photographicimage(s) to express his or her intent to share or otherwise distributethe image(s), for instance by e-mailing them directly to the otherindividuals and/or uploading the image(s) to an accessible location onthe World Wide Web. For example, many web sites and/or companies,including, SHUTTERFLY®, KODAK® EASYSHARE®, and SONY® IMAGESTATION®,provide services for uploading and sharing photographs. While this maybe one way to share the image, it is not ideal, as oftentimes, theimages are in fact never sent, uploaded, or shared as initiallyintended. In addition, even in the event the digital photographic imagesare in fact uploaded to the web servers, it may take days, weeks, oreven months to do so, and further, use of these third-party services mayoften lead to excessive, unnecessary frustration and aggravation.

As such, there is a current need in the art for an image distributionsystem and method which is structured to dispose one or more capturingdevices in a communicative relation with one or more receiving devicesfor instantaneous, automatic, and/or selective distribution of imagestherebetween.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a system and method fordistributing at least one digital photographic image from a capturingdevice, such as, for example, a digital camera or other mechanism havingdigital photographic capabilities, to one or more receiving devices,wherein the receiving device(s) is cooperatively structured toautomatically and/or selectively receive the digital photographicimage(s) from the capturing device.

In particular, the present invention comprises a capturing device and areceiving device disposed in a communicative relation with one anothervia, for example, a wireless network. In addition, the devices may bedisposed in a selectively paired relation with one another via one ormore common pre-defined pairing criteria. In such an embodiment, thedevices automatically or selectively disposed in the communicativerelation with one another upon disposition of the devices in apredetermined and/or proximate relation with one another, as will bediscussed in greater detail below.

In addition, at least one embodiment of the present invention comprisesfiltering the at least one digital photographic image communicated toand/or received by the receiving device. For instance, the presentinvention may include one or more transfer criteria disposed on thecapturing device and/or receiving device. As will become apparent fromthe following discussion, the transfer criteria may be structured tofilter the image(s), for example, via object recognition, locationalinformation, time, date, image name, etc.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become clearer when the drawings as well as the detaileddescription are taken into consideration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of at least one embodiment of thesystem disclosed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of at least one embodiment of the capturing deviceof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of at least one embodiment of the receivingdevice of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the receiving device disposed ina communicative relation with a remote device disclosed in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of at least one embodiment of thepairing criteria of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of at yet another embodiment of thepairing criteria of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of at least one embodiment of thetransfer criteria of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of yet another embodiment of thetransfer criteria of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of yet another embodiment of thesystem disclosed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating at least one embodiment of themethod disclosed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating at least one other embodiment ofthe method of the present invention.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and with primary referenceto FIG. 1, the present invention is directed to a system, generallyindicated as 10, cooperatively structured and disposed to distribute oneor more digital photographic images. In particular, the system 10 of thepresent invention comprises at least one capturing device 20 and atleast one receiving device 30 disposable in a communicative relationwith one another, for example, via at least one wireless network 40and/or via a wired connection. For instance, the wireless network(s) 40of at least one embodiment may include short-range communicationtechnology such as Bluetooth, infrared (“IR”), and/or other personalarea networks (“PAN”), particularly wherein the capturing device(s) 20and the receiving device(s) 30 are disposed proximate one another, forexample, while located at or near the same landmark, in the same party,house, room, wedding, etc. However, the wireless network(s) 40 and/orcommunication protocol of the present invention need not be limited toshort range technology, and may instead comprise a local area network(“LAN”), wide area network (“WAN”), satellite, WiFi, cellular, and/orthe World Wide Web accessible via an Internet Protocol or other likeprotocols. Accordingly, in at least one embodiment of the presentinvention the capturing device(s) 20 and the receiving device(s) 30 may,but need not, be operatively located proximate one another to bedisposed in the communicative relation.

Furthermore, the capturing device 20 of the various embodiments of thepresent invention generally comprises virtually any device structured tocapture one or more digital photographic images 25, and/or otherwiseequipped with the structures and mechanisms capable of facilitating thepractice of the present invention in the intended manner, as discussedherein. In particular, the capturing device 20 may include a devicestructured for the primary purpose of capturing images, and thus mayinclude, for example, a digital photographic camera, camcorder, videocamera, etc. However, the capturing device 20 of the present inventionmay include, but is certainly not limited to, a cellular telephone, PDA,video game console, etc., having the structures and/or mechanism capableof capturing digital photographic images 25.

Moreover, the capturing device 20 of at least one embodiment furthercomprises a capture assembly 22 which is structured to selectivelycapture the digital photographic image(s) 25. The capture assembly 22includes a lens assembly 23 comprising, for example, an objective,photographic, and/or optical lens, which may be removably and/or fixedlysecured to a body 21 of the capturing device 20. In addition, thecapture assembly 22 of at least one embodiment includes a triggerassembly 24, which, when activated, pushed, or manipulated is structuredto facilitate the capturing of the digital photographic image(s) 25.

In addition, the capturing device 20 may include a display assembly (notillustrated) which is structured and disposed to display to a userthereof various data, images, etc. The display assembly may be virtuallyany size and may include virtually any display device, including but notlimited to a liquid crystal display (“LCD”).

Furthermore, the capturing device(s) 20 of at least one embodimentincludes a first network component 26 structured to operativelycommunicate with one or more other devices, such as, for example, thereceiving device(s) 30 as disclosed herein. The network component 26 ofthe capturing device 20 may include a wireless network interface card,device, and/or circuitry structured to dispose the capture device 20 ina communicative relation with the other devices of the present inventionvia the wireless network 40, wired connection, etc. For purposes ofillustration, FIG. 2 shows the network component 26 at least partiallydisposed in an external relation to the body 21 of the capture device20, such as via an antenna. However, in at least one embodiment, thenetwork component 26 may be substantially or completely disposed withinthe confines of the body 21 so as to be substantially or completelyconcealed therein.

In at least one embodiment, the capturing device 20 further comprises atleast one local electronic storage medium structured to electronicallystore the one or more digital photographic images 25 thereon. Forinstance, the local electronic storage medium of the capturing device 20may include an internal storage device 27 such as an internal hard driveor other like mechanism intended to be disposed within or otherwiseremain inside the body 21 of the capture device 20. In addition, thelocal electronic storage medium of the capturing device 20 may include aremovable storage device 28 such as a removable memory card, UniversalSerial Bus (“USB”) drive, Firewire drive, flash drive, etc. Of course,in such an embodiment, the capture device 20 further includes acooperatively disposed slot, interface, and/or circuitry structured tooperatively dispose and control the removable storage device 28.

The receiving device 30 of the various embodiments of the presentinvention generally comprises any device structured and disposed toreceive the digital photographic image(s) 25 in accordance with thevarious embodiments of the present invention. In particular, thereceiving device(s) 30 of at least one embodiment may, but need not,comprise a device structured to include the capability of capturingdigital photographic image(s), such as, for example, a camera, cellulartelephone, PDA, etc. Accordingly, the receiving device(s) 30 may in atleast one embodiment be structured to include the various capabilitiesof one or more capturing device(s) 20, as described herein, such as, forexample, the capability of capturing one or more digital photographicimages 25. However, as will be discussed below, the receiving device(s)30 need not, in any manner, have such structure and may insteadgenerally comprise a stand-alone device such as a key fob or other likemechanism.

In addition, the receiving device 30 of at least one embodiment of thepresent invention may include a display assembly (not illustrated) whichis structured and disposed to display to a user thereof various data,images, etc. The display assembly may be virtually any size and mayinclude virtually any display device, including but not limited to aliquid crystal display (“LCD”).

Referring now to FIG. 3, the receiving device 30 further comprises asecond network component 36 similar in structure and function to thefirst network component 26 of the capturing device 20. For instance, thenetwork component 36 of the receiving device 30 is structured to disposethe receiving device 30 in a communicative relation with one or moreother devices, such as, for example the capturing device 20, via the oneor more wireless networks 40, wired connection, etc. The networkcomponent 36 of at least one embodiment of the receiving device 30includes a wireless network interface card and corresponding circuitry,and may further be substantially or completely externally or internallydisposed relative to a body 31 of the receiving device 30.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, the receivingdevice 30 further comprises at least one local electronic storage mediumstructured to electronically store various data and/or information,including, for example, the one or more digital photographic images 25.The local electronic storage medium of the receiving device 30 mayinclude an internal storage device 37, such as an internal hard drive orother like mechanism structured and intended to remain disposed withinthe confines of the body 31 of the receiving device 30. The localelectronic storage medium of the receiving device 30 may instead oradditionally include a removable storage device 38, such as, forexample, a removable storage card, Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) device,Firewire device, flash drive, etc. In such an embodiment, the receivingdevice 30 further includes the corresponding slot, interface, and/orcircuitry to operatively dispose and control the removable storagedevice 38.

Still referring to FIG. 3, the receiving device 30 may comprise anattachment assembly 39 structured to dispose the receiving device 30 ina removably attached relation to a user's key chain, belt loop, or otherlike location. However, as described above, in at least one embodiment,the receiving device 30 is similar in structure and function tocapturing device 20 and thus may include a capturing assembly (notillustrated). Thus, in at least one embodiment, the receiving device(s)30 may also function as a capturing device 20 as disclosed in thepresent specification. Similarly, as will be discussed below, thecapturing device(s) 20 of the present invention may function as areceiving device 30.

As will become apparent from the following discussion, the digitalphotographic image(s) 25 of the various embodiments of the presentinvention comprises at least one visual component, which may includeeither still and/or moving images. In at least one embodiment, thedigital photographic image(s) 25 may further include at least one datacomponent. The data component(s) of the digital photographic image(s) 25includes, for example, an image number, GPS and/or geographic locationinformation (e.g., the latitude and longitude, or an estimate thereof,where the image 25 was captured), audio system information, date andtime information (e.g., the date and time when the image 25 wascaptured), identification information of the user of the capturingdevice 20 (e.g., name, e-mail address, username, alias), identificationof the capturing device 20, subject identification of the image 25,etc., or other information as disclosed and described in U.S. PatentApplication No. 2006/0114338 to Leigh M. Rothschild, entitled “Deviceand Method for Embedding and Retrieving Information in Digital Images,”having Ser. No. 11/051,069, filed on Feb. 4, 2005, which is incorporatedherein in its entirety by reference. Accordingly, in at least oneembodiment, the capturing device comprises a locational module,including, but not limited to a Global Positioning System (“GPS”),structured to encode the geographic location of the capturing device 20during the capture of each digital photographic image 25. The presentinvention is structured to associate the one or more data componentswithin the digital photographic image(s) 25 so as to facilitate thepractice of the present invention in the intended manner, as describedherein.

Further, the capturing device 20 of at least one embodiment isstructured and disposed to automatically communicate the digitalphotographic image(s) 25 to the receiving device 30 upon the selectivecapture of the at least one digital photographic image(s) 25.Particularly, in at least one embodiment, the capturing device 20 andthe receiving device 30 are disposed in a communicative relation withone another prior to the capturing of the digital photographic image(s)25. Accordingly, upon the capturing of the image(s) 25, because thecapturing device 20 and the receiving device 30 are disposed in thecommunicative relation with one another, the capturing device 20 of atleast one embodiment is structured and configured to automaticallycommunicate the image(s) 25 to the receiving device 30. Of course, thecapturing device 20 may be structured and/or programmed in a manner tofacilitate the selective communication of the image(s) 25 to thereceiving device 30. For instance, a user at the capturing device 30 maybe able to select or decide which images 25 are in fact communicated tothe receiving device 30 via the communicative relation therebetween.

Similarly, the receiving device 30 may be structured to automaticallyand/or selectively receive the image(s) 25 communicated by the capturingdevice 20. As such, a user at the receiving device 30 may view theimage(s) 25, the title of the image(s) 25, a thumbnail of the image(s)25, or other data component of the image(s) 25 on a display assembly orother viewing screen. The user may then selectively receive the image(s)25 by selectively accepting or rejecting them.

Once the digital photographic image(s) 25 is received by the receivingdevice 30, the image(s) 25 may be electronically stored on the localelectronic storage medium, such as the internal storage device 37 and/orthe removable storage device 38, as described above. In at least oneembodiment, however, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the receiving device 30is disposable in a communicative relation with at least one remotedevice 60 via one or more interactive computer networks 65. Inparticular, the receiving device 30 of the present invention isstructured to either automatically and/or selectively communicate thedigital photographic image(s) 25 to the remote device 60 via theinteractive computer network 65. More in particular, the remote device60 of at least one embodiment includes, for example, a web server havinga remote electronic storage medium. Specifically, the remote device 60and/or web server may be utilized in conjunction with and/or becontrolled by one or more third-party image sharing services, including,but in no way limited to FLICKR®, SHUTTERFLY®, KODAK® EASYSHARE®, andSONY® IMAGESTATION®. Thus, the image(s) 25 may be uploaded to the remotedevice 60, web server(s) or third party services and be accessible bythe public and/or authorized individuals. In addition, the remote device60 may include a user's home computer, laptop computer, PDA, e-mailserver, personal web page, etc. Further, the interactive computernetwork 65 and/or other communication protocol may be wireless and/orwired, and includes, for example, the World Wide Web, LAN, WAN,peer-to-peer (“P2P”) network, direct connection, Bluetooth, PAN,cellular, etc.

In at least one embodiment, however, the capturing device 20 may bedisposed in a communicative relation with the remote device 60,identified above. Accordingly, the capturing device 20 of at least oneembodiment is structured to communicate the digital photographicimage(s) 25 to the remote device 60 via the communicative relationtherebetween instead of or in addition to communicating the digitalphotographic image 25 to the receiving device 30.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the capturingdevice(s) 20 and the receiving device(s) 30 are disposed in aselectively paired relationship with one another via at least one commonpre-defined pairing criteria 50. For instance, the capturing device 20and receiving device 30 include or are otherwise associated with variouspairing criteria 50 including, for example, a device identification orID, a device name, social and/or affinity groups, e-mail addressassociated with the device or user of the device, geographic location ofthe device, subject identification of the image 25, geographic locationwhere the image 25 was captured, etc., each of which may be stored onthe local electronic storage medium, for example. More in particular,the device ID includes a serial number, model name/number, or otheridentification unique to the particular device 20, 30. Moreover, thedevice name comprises a pre-defined username or other likeidentification unique to the user or owner of the particular device.Further, the social and/or affinity group comprises a list oridentification of groups the owner or user belongs to. For instance, thesocial or affinity group(s) may be specified, updated, or designated onthe device 20, 30 itself, for example, by utilizing a keyboard, touchpad, touch screen, voice recognition, or other input means located on orin a communicative relation with the device 20, 30. Of course, in atleast one embodiment, the device(s) 20, 30 may be updated, synchronized,or modified via a wired and/or wireless connection with, for example, alaptop or desktop computer so as to specify, update, and/or synchronizewith a social and/or affinity group as described herein. As such, agroup of individuals or users may create or designate a group having apre-determined or pre-specified name or ID. Each user may then identifythe group on their device 20, 30 for purposes of disposing theparticular device 20, 30 in a paired relationship with other devices 20,30 belonging to users of the same group. Further, in at least oneembodiment, the social and/or affinity group is capable of beingsynchronized with an interactive social network accessible via the WorldWide Web, including, but certainly not limited to MYSPACE®, FACEBOOK®,FRIENDSTER®, LINKEDIN®, etc. In such an embodiment, the social/affinitygroup of the pre-defined pairing criteria 50 may be synchronized withthe user's “friends” or “contacts” on the one or more interactive socialnetworks accessible via the World Wide Web by connecting to networkswirelessly or via a cable.

In at least one embodiment, a capturing device 20 and a receiving device30 disposed in a selectively paired relationship, as described above,are automatically or selectively disposed in a communicative relationwith one another as the devices 20, 30 are disposed in a predeterminedand/or proximate relation to one another or are otherwise disposedwithin the confines of the wireless network 40. As such, in at least oneembodiment, the device 20, 30 are disposed in the predeterminedproximate relation when they are disposed in the same room, party,wedding, etc., or otherwise disposed in an operative relation to oneanother and being capable of communicating via the wireless network 40,which as above, may include short and/or long range communicationtechnologies. For instance, the receiving device 30 of at least oneembodiment is structured to alert or notify the user thereof that acapturing device 20 having one or more common pre-defined pairingcriteria 50, or otherwise having a selectively paired relationshiptherewith, is capable of being disposed in a communicative relation. Ofcourse, the capturing device 20 of at least one embodiment may besimilarly structured in that it may alert a user thereof that areceiving device 30 having one or more common pre-defined pairingcriteria 50 is capable of being disposed in a communicative relationtherewith. In at least one embodiment, for two or more devices disposedin a paired relationship or otherwise being associated with one or morecommon pre-defined pairing criteria 50, the communicative relation isautomatically created, however, the user at the capturing and/orreceiving device 20, 30, respectively, may, of course, accept and/orreject the communicative relation therewith. Once disposed in thecommunicative relation with one another, the capturing device 20 isstructured to communicate one or more digital photographic images 25 tothe receiving device 30, in the manner as described above.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the capturing device20 and receiving device 30 may be disposed in a selectively pairedand/or communicative relation with one another by virtue of disposingone of the devices 20, 30 in an “available” mode thereby broadcastingits presence to other devices 20, 30 disposed in a predetermined and/orproximate relation thereto, as discussed above. Once a device 20, 30 isdisposed in the “available” or broadcasting mode, the other device(s)20, 30 may accept or pair with the device. The devices 20, 30 may, in atleast one embodiment, need to share a passkey or other authorizationcode prior to disposition of the devices 20, 30 in the paired orcommunicative relation with one another. Furthermore, the device 20, 30may also include a “touch-to-pair” feature which is structured todispose the devices 20, 30 in a paired and/or communicative relationwith one another by bringing the two devices 20, 30 in a closeproximity, such as within ten (10) centimeters, with one another.

For exemplary purposes only, the capturing device 20′ and receivingdevice 30′ illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively, include or areotherwise associated with at least one common pre-defined pairingcriteria 50, and are thus otherwise disposed in a selective pairingrelationship with one another. For instance, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6,the pairing criteria 50 of the capturing device 20′ comprises “Bob,07892” which corresponds to the device name and device ID of thereceiving device 30′. Similarly, the pairing criteria 50 of thereceiving device 30′ comprises “John, 007561”, which corresponds to thedevice name and device ID of the capturing device 20′. Accordingly, inat least one embodiment, as the capturing device 20′ and the receivingdevice 30′ are disposed in a predetermined or proximate relation to oneanother or otherwise within a wireless network 40, the devices 20′, 30′may be automatically or selectively disposed in a communicative relationwith one another, and thus the capturing device 20′ is structured tocommunicate one or more digital photographic images 25 to the receivingdevice 30′ in accordance with the present invention. For instance, ifthe capturing device 20′ captures an image 25 while disposed in acommunicative relation with the receiving device 30′, the image 25 maybe automatically or selectively communicated to the receiving device 30′which may automatically or selectively receive the image 25.

Moreover, in at least one embodiment, in the event the devices 20, 30are disposed out of the communicative relation, for example, in theevent the receiving device 30 travels out of range of the wirelessnetwork 40, the capturing device 20 may save, record, or otherwise trackthe one or more digital photographic images 25 which were capturedduring the lost communication with the receiving device 30. Once thecapturing device 20 and the receiving device 30 are disposed in thecommunicative relation with one another, the capturing device 20 isstructured to communicate the stored or queued images to the receivingdevice 30, similar to communication of the individual images 25 asdescribed above.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the pre-definedpairing criteria 50 includes an object recognition and/or subjectidentification component which is structured to define the subjectmatter, topic, or theme of the digital photographic image 25. Forinstance, the capturing device 20 may include object recognitionsoftware or other mechanism(s) for identifying objects or individualslocated within a captured image 25. In addition, a user at the capturingdevice 20 may manually tag or embed the image(s) 25 with datacorresponding to the subject matter, theme, or topic thereof. Forexemplary purposes only, an image 25 of the Empire State Building may beembedded or tagged with data which identifies the Empire State Buildingwithin that particular image 25. Of course, in at least one embodiment,the user of the capturing device 20 may simply re-name the title of theimage 25 to include a title or name corresponding to the Empire StateBuilding, and thus, in at least one embodiment, the subjectidentification component comprises the title and/or file name of thedigital photographic image 25.

Either way, receiving device 30 of at least one embodiment, may bestructured to search or scan for one or more capturing devices 20 withina certain area which includes one or more images 25 having a particularobject recognition component. For instance, a receiving device 30 may beconfigured to be disposed in a selectively paired relationship withcapturing device(s) 20 having one or more images 25 of the Empire StateBuilding. Similarly, a capturing device 20 may be structured andconfigured to be disposed in a paired relationship with receivingdevice(s) 30 searching for a particular type of image, or otherwisehaving a pre-defined pairing criteria 50 including a particular objectrecognition component.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the capturing device20 is structured to filter the digital photographic image(s) 25 whichare communicated to the receiving device 30. For instance, the capturingdevice 20 may comprise or otherwise be associated with one or morepre-defined transfer criteria 70. Thus, prior to the communication ofthe digital photograph image(s) 25 from the capturing device 20 to thereceiving device 30, the image(s) 25 is compared to the transfercriteria 70. If the image(s) 25 conforms to the transfer criteria 70,and/or if one or more data components of the image(s) 25 includes thetransfer criteria 70, then the image(s) 25 is communicated to thereceiving device 30 in the manner discussed above.

In particular, the transfer criteria 70 of at least one embodimentsincludes, but is certainly not limited to, title of the image(s) 25,subject matter of the image(s) 25, and/or any of the other datacomponent(s) of the digital photographic image(s) 25, as discussedabove, which include, for example, locational or Global PositioningSystem (“GPS”) information, audio system information, date and timeinformation, user identity information. For instance, once disposed inthe communicative relation with one another, instead of having alldigital photographic images 25 communicated from the capturing device 20to the receiving device 30, the at least one pre-defined transfercriteria 70 is structured to filter the image(s) 25 and determine which,if any, are in fact communicated.

For exemplary purposes only, utilizing the pre-defined pairing criteria50 and/or the transfer criteria 70, the capturing device 20 of at leastone embodiment may be structured and configured to communicate certainimage(s) 25 to certain receiving devices 30. For instance, the capturingdevice 20 may be structured, configured, and/or programmed tocommunicate images 25 of the Empire State Building to a receiving device30 having a device name “Bob,” and communicate images 25 of the GrandCanyon to a receiving device having a device name “Jim.” As above, thesubject of the image 25 may be identified by object recognitionsoftware, one or more modified data components of the image(s) 25,and/or the title of the image 25.

In addition, the receiving device 30 of at least one embodiment isstructured to filter the digital photographic images 25 received by thecapturing device 20. For instance, similar to the capturing device 20just described, the receiving device 30 of at least one embodimentcomprises or is otherwise associated with one or more transfer criteria70. Thus, prior to receipt of the digital photograph image(s) 25 fromthe capturing device 20, the image(s) 25 is compared to the transfercriteria 70. If the image(s) 25 conforms to the transfer criteria 70,and/or if one or more data components of the image(s) 25 includes thetransfer criteria 70, then the image(s) 25 is communicated to thereceiving device 30 in the manner discussed above.

For exemplary purposes only, utilizing the pairing criteria 50 and/orthe transfer criteria 70, the receiving device 30 may be structured andconfigured to only receive and/or accept certain images 25, such as, forexample, images 25 entitled “Empire State Building” that were capturedat a particular latitude and longitude, address, or city, and have beencaptured from a particular capturing device 20, namely one having aparticular device name and being disposed a particular distance from thereceiving device 30.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the capturing and/orreceiving device 20, 30 includes an object alerting module structured tominimize or eliminate duplicative image(s) 25 captured by a capturingdevice 20 and receiving device 30, wherein the devices 20, 30 aredisposed in a communicative and/or paired relationship with one another.For instance, as discussed above, the receiving device 30 of at leastone embodiment includes a capture assembly or other mechanism(s)structured to capture one or more digital photographic images 25. Inaddition, the receiving device 20 may thus utilize object recognitionsoftware or other like feature(s) structured to identify the object,theme, subject matter, or topic of an image which is about to becaptured or has been captured by the receiving device 30. Accordingly,in at least one embodiment, a user at the receiving device 30 may benotified or alerted when an object or subject which the receiving device30 is about to capture or has been captured, is already the subject ofan image 25 captured by one or more capturing devices 20. In such anembodiment, the user at the receiving device 30 need not duplicate theimage(s) 25 which has already been obtained by the capturing device 20.Of course, in at least one embodiment, the capturing device 20 may bealerted in a similar manner in the event a receiving device 30 disposedin a communicative or paired relation therewith has already captured animage having the same or similar subject, object, theme, or topic as oneabout to be or already captured by the capturing device 20.

Referring now to FIG. 9, yet another embodiment of the present inventionfurther comprises a first receiving device 130 disposed in acommunicative relation with the capturing device 20 via aninterconnecting chain of a plurality of wireless networks 40, 40′.Particularly, a second and/or relay receiving device 130′ is disposed ina communicative relation with the first receiving device via a firstwireless network 40. Further, the second receiving device 130′ isdisposed in a communicative relation with the capturing device 20 via asecond wireless network 40′. As with at least one of the embodimentsdiscussed above, the wireless networks 40, 40′ may include short rangetechnology, such as Bluetooth, however, use of the World Wide Web isalso contemplated. As such, communication of a digital photographicimage 25 from the capturing device 20 to the first receiving device 130is implemented via the interconnecting chain of wireless networks 40,40′. In such an embodiment, the image(s) 25 may or may not becommunicated to the second or relay receiving device 130′.

The present invention further comprises a method for distributing atleast one digital photographic image, generally indicated as 100. Forinstance, the method 100 comprises disposing at least one capturingdevice and at least one receiving device in a communicative relationwith one another, as described in detail above, and as generallyindicated as 102. The communicative relation between the capturingdevice and the receiving device may be via a short range communicationtechnology, for example, Bluetooth, peer-to-peer, or other personal areanetwork. However, the use of a WAN, LAN, cellular, satellite, or WorldWide Web is also contemplated.

Moreover, the various embodiments of the method 100 further comprisescapturing the at least one digital photographic image via the at leastone capturing device, as indicated at 104, and communicating the atleast one digital photographic image from the capturing device to thereceiving device, as at 106. The digital photographic image of thepresent invention may be captured before or after disposing thecapturing device and the receiving device in a communicative relationwith one another.

Furthermore, the digital photographic image of the present invention maybe automatically and/or selectively communicated from the capturingdevice to the receiving device, as discussed above. For exemplarypurposes only, in at least one embodiment, once the capturing device andthe receiving device are disposed in the communicative relation with oneanother, the devices may be configured to automatically communicate anydigital photographic images captured by the capturing device to thereceiving device, upon capturing the image, or otherwise as the imagesare captured by the capturing device. Of course, as indicated above,however, the method further includes selectively communicating theimage(s) from the capturing device to the receiving device. In such aninstance, a user at the capturing device may select which images tocommunicate to a particular receiving device.

In addition, at least one embodiment of the method 100 includesassociating at least one pairing criteria with the receiving deviceand/or capturing device, indicated as 101, prior to disposition of thecapturing device and the receiving device in the communicative relationwith one another. In particular, as discussed above, the pairingcriteria may include, for example, a device ID, device name, location ofa device, object recognition component, etc. The pairing criteria may beassociated with the capturing device and/or receiving device in a numberof different manners. For instance, the device ID may be associated withthe particular device by the manufacturer, creator, etc. of the deviceprior to the user being in possession of it. Of course, the user mayassociate a different or customized device ID, device name, groupidentification, specific pairings, other device IDs or device names, orany other pairing criteria via any input means such as a keyboard,virtual touchpad, voice recognition, etc. The pairing criteria may thenbe stored on an electronic storage medium, as discussed above, such as,for example, a local hard drive or removable memory card. In addition,the pairing criteria may be automatically associated with the particulardevice and stored on the electronic storage medium, without the user'sinput or active contribution. For instance, as discussed above, onedevice may be configured in an “available” or “visible” mode such thatanother device may be disposed in the paired relation therewith. Uponsuch pairing or disposition of the devices in a communicative relationwith one another, in at least one embodiment, the pairing criteria isautomatically associated with or stored on each of the devices forfuture pairing.

If the capturing device and the receiving device comprise cooperativelyassociated pairing criteria, then the capturing device and the receivingdevice are disposed in the communicative relation, as discussed above.Specifically, and for exemplary purposes only, if the receiving deviceis configured or otherwise associated with pairing criteria whichidentifies a device name “John” and a device ID as “007561”, and thecapturing device include a device name “John” and a device ID “007561”,then the capturing device and the receiving device are disposed in aselectively paired relationship. In at least one embodiment, the method100 further includes scanning for a device with cooperatively associatedpairing criteria 101′, and, in at least one embodiment, once thecapturing and receiving devices are disposed in a proximate relationwith one another, they are either automatically or selectively disposedin a communicative relation with one another, as at 102.

In a further embodiment, the method 100 of the present invention furtherincludes associating at least one pairing criteria with the capturingdevice in a similar manner as associating the pairing criteria with thereceiving device. In particular, if the capturing device and receivingdevice comprise cooperatively associated pairing criteria, then they aredisposed in a communicative and/or paired relationship with one another.

In addition and as also discussed above, at least one embodiment of themethod 100 includes filtering the digital photographic images, forexample, via one or more transfer criteria, as indicated at 105 and 107.In particular, the transfer criteria may be associated with thecapturing device and/or receiving device, and may be defined prior tocommunication of the image(s) to the receiving device. For instance, thetransfer criteria may be associated with the capturing and/or receivingdevices in a similar manner as the pairing criteria is associatedtherewith. Specifically, the transfer criteria may be associated withthe particular device via direct input by the user or other individualutilizing, for example, a keyboard, virtual keypad, voice recognition,or other input means. Similarly, the transfer criteria, in at least oneembodiment, may be automatically associated with the particular deviceand/or associated with the device by the manufacturer, for example. Assuch, the transfer criteria may be disposed or stored on an electronicstorage medium, for example, in a database or other similar storagemeans.

Further, the method 100 includes comparing the digital photographicimage(s) and/or the data component(s) thereof with the one or moretransfer criteria. If the image(s) is corresponding associated with thetransfer criteria, then the image is communicated to (as at 106) and/orreceived by (as at 108) the receiving device. As above, the transfercriteria may include, for example, the subject, object, theme, or topicof the image, as well as a location, date, time, or other image datacomponent.

Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be madeto the described preferred embodiment of the invention, it is intendedthat all matters in the foregoing description and shown in theaccompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined bythe appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Now that the invention has been described,

1-63. (canceled)
 64. An image-capturing mobile device, comprising awireless receiver; a wireless transmitter; and a processor operablyconnected to the wireless receiver and the wireless transmitter, whereinthe processor is configured to initiate and/or perform receiving aplurality of photographic images; filtering the plurality ofphotographic images using a transfer criteria; and transmitting, via thewireless transmitter and to a second mobile device, the filteredplurality of photographic images.
 65. The image-capturing mobile deviceof claim 64, wherein the transfer criteria is a geographic location ofthe image-capturing mobile device.
 66. The image-capturing mobile deviceof claim 65, wherein the image-capturing mobile device and the secondmobile device are disposed in a selectively paired relationship with oneanother based upon the geographic location.
 67. The image-capturingmobile device of claim 64, wherein the transfer criteria is a subjectidentification of a respective photographic image within the pluralityof photographic images.
 68. The image-capturing mobile device of claim67, wherein the image-capturing mobile device and the second mobilecapturing device are disposed in a selectively paired relationship withone another based upon the subject identification.
 69. Theimage-capturing mobile device of claim 64, wherein the transfer criteriais a geographic location associated with a respective photographic imagewithin the plurality of photographic images.
 70. The image-capturingmobile device of claim 64, wherein the processor is further configuredto initiate and/or perform receiving, via the wireless receiver and fromthe second mobile device, the transfer criteria.
 71. The image-capturingmobile device of claim 64, wherein the transmitting is conditional uponthe image-capturing mobile device and the second mobile device meeting apre-defined pairing criteria.
 72. The image-capturing mobile device ofclaim 64, wherein the image-capturing mobile device and the secondmobile device are disposed in a selectively paired relationship with oneanother based upon an affinity group associated with the second mobiledevice.
 73. The image-capturing mobile device of claim 64, wherein theimage-capturing mobile device and the second mobile device are disposedin a selectively paired relationship with one another based upon ageographic location of at least one of the plurality of photographicimages.
 74. A method performed by an image-capturing mobile device,comprising receiving a plurality of photographic images; filtering theplurality of photographic images using a transfer criteria; andtransmitting, via a wireless transmitter and to a second image capturingdevice, the filtered plurality of photographic images.
 75. The method ofclaim 74, wherein the transfer criteria is a geographic location of theimage-capturing mobile device.
 76. The method of claim 75, wherein theimage-capturing mobile device and the second mobile device are disposedin a selectively paired relationship with one another based upon thegeographic location.
 77. The method of claim 74, wherein the transfercriteria is a subject identification of a respective photographic imagewithin the plurality of photographic images.
 78. The method of claim 77,wherein the image-capturing mobile device and the second mobilecapturing device are disposed in a selectively paired relationship withone another based upon the subject identification.
 79. The method ofclaim 74, wherein the transfer criteria is a geographic locationassociated with a respective photographic image within the plurality ofphotographic images.
 80. The method of claim 74, wherein the processoris further configured to initiate and/or perform receiving, via thewireless receiver and from the second mobile device, the transfercriteria.
 81. The method of claim 74, wherein the transmitting isconditional upon the image-capturing mobile device and the second mobiledevice meeting a pre-defined pairing criteria.
 82. The method of claim74, wherein the image-capturing mobile device and the second mobiledevice are disposed in a selectively paired relationship with oneanother based upon an affinity group associated with the second mobiledevice.
 83. The method of claim 74, wherein the image-capturing mobiledevice and the second mobile device are disposed in a selectively pairedrelationship with one another based upon a geographic location of atleast one of the plurality of photographic images.